


The Gimmicks: Lights in the Stars

by LostInTheThicket



Series: The Gimmicks' Compendium: Life in New Toronto [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, Gang Violence, Gen, Minor Violence, Original Character-centric, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends, Team Bonding, lots of references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 01:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16651297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInTheThicket/pseuds/LostInTheThicket
Summary: Witness a tale of change, perseverance, wonder, and friendship.Learn how four strangers from different walks of life join forces through a world-altering event. Learn how they'll fight against forces looking to tear the city - and perhaps, the world - apart. Learn how they become superheroes.Learn how they become known as...The Gimmicks.





	The Gimmicks: Lights in the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> **IT'S FINALLY HERE!**
> 
>  
> 
> My very OC-centric, superhero world. I've spent months thinking of this alternate universe and more months thinking of the characters. Not everything will be explained in the world, and this is a bit centralized in terms of location, but I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I think it's time to _finally_ tell the beginning of Hannah's story...
> 
> Updates will be hopefully frequent, but no promises. All feedback will be welcomed. <3

It's a cool, crisp summer night in Yonge-Dundas Square. Neon lights, winding skyscrapers, and an array of high definition monitors and virtual holograms illuminate the area with a sense of wonder. Crowds fill up the streets of New Toronto, a city reborn under a technological renaissance.

Amidst the masses, a young boy walks out of a movie theatre with his parents wearing a Black Panther mask. He crosses his arms in an X-shaped pattern hoping to get his mother's attention.

“Mom! Mom!” he said. “Do the thing with me! Please?”

The mother looks down at her young son, chuckling with a soft smile. Blushing the entire time, she mimics the gesture. Onlookers smile and chuckle at the adorable sight. “Wakanda Forever,” she said sheepishly.

The young boy shouts in glee. “Wakanda Forever!”

With a pep in his step, he strides in front of his parents. His father wraps an arm around his mother, sharing a warm laugh. “See? I told you it would be fun.”

The mother rests her head on her husband and smiles. She notices her son walking away from them as he mimics claw swipes. “Hey, sweetie, don't go too fa—” As soon as the mother tries to complete her sentence, a scrawny figure speeds past the young boy, knocking him to the ground.

The mother reacts in horror. “Baby! Hey, stop!”

Splitting the couple apart, a sketchy-looking man with spectacles, curly hair, and an unkempt beard, looks back and keeps on running. The father tries to hold him in place, but the man’s too slippery. “Hey, buddy, what's your prob—Hey! I'm talking to you…”

Before he can finish his sentence, two imposing figures in black suits and purple ties shove the father to the ground with unrelenting force. Reeling from the pain, the father crumples to the floor as his wife and son react in horror.

“Dad!” The young boy said, consoling his father.

The mother points at the three figures. “Someone help us!”

As the family disappears behind him, the young man whips past crowds, mumbling expletives and curses under his breath. “Crap! Shit! Damn it! Can't let them get me!”

* * *

 

The young man suddenly spots a way out. It's a detour! Running through several city blocks, he spots a dark, winding alley. He loses his pursuers with a quick juke through it. Catching his breath, the man is relieved as he laughs.

“Happy hunting, assholes,” he said. “Heh, damn. I thought I was a goner...”

Rubbing the sweat off of his brow and onto his wrinkled, white shirt, the man walks deeper into the alley. Suddenly, an eerie voice cuts through the sounds of the city. A voice with no discernible source, it's a voice that sends chills down the young man's spine.

“No. Not _yet_ , you’re not.”

The sketchy man turns around to spot four more figures with the same attire as his pursuers. As he tries to make a quick getaway, he sees his pursuers return. The voice draws closer...

“My fellow assistants were searching far and wide for you, Thaddeus Anderson. Please. Stay for a while...”

An ominous, cloaked figure materializes out of the shadows like mist. With a futuristic mask, a peculiar suit, and dark velvet robes, the figure shows no visible hint of their identity. However, the sketchy man – Thaddeus ‘Thad’ Anderson (late 20s) – freezes in horror as he recognizes the figure - and their mask – instantly.

“It’s Thad, you—Requiem? Aw, s-shit. I…”

 **Requiem** raises a finger to silence Thad as he freezes. “I promise I’ll be brief.”

A being of above-average height, they walk with a sense of purpose. With a calm yet chilling tone to their gait, Requiem motions to the group. They step forward while the men in suits step back, enveloping Thad.

Cutting right to the chase, Requiem’s voice bellows in Thad’s ears. “You killed two of my business partners last night, Thaddeus...”

“Two?!” Thad’s eyes widen. “It was in… self-defence. Oh, shit. …I didn't—”

“Dear, sweet Thaddeus. If you didn't _mean_ to do anything, you wouldn't be in this predicament, now, would you?” As Requiem snaps their fingers, the men in suits circle around Thad. He whips his head around, frantically searching for a way out. “The details of the incident are irrelevant to me. You took two lives.”

They walk up to Thad, inches away from his face. “In this city, in this time... violence begets violence.”

Thaddeus starts to cry, clasping his hands together in desperation. “Please, I just want to survive. I-I have a brother. We only got each other. Please… we just wanna live.”

Requiem places a finger on his lips to shut him up. A soft, eerie sigh creeps through the mask, modulated through a voice changer. The mysterious figure places a hand on Thaddeus' shoulder, conceivably as a form of comfort.

They lean in close, whispering in Thad’s ear. “I know, Mr. Anderson. But you shouldn’t have infiltrated my meeting. You shouldn’t have seen it. I assure you that your brother will be taken care of. I'll send him your last regards, Thaddeus...”

A burst of purple necrotic energy suddenly rushes through Thad's body. The glow penetrates the shadows of the alley.

Before he can even scream, his eyes look up towards the sky as his pupils dilate. His body temperature cools down at an alarming rate. The colour of his skin fades at a rapid pace. His breath rattles and a faint tear runs down his face, thinking of his brother for the last time.

His world goes dark. In the middle of the gloomy alley, Thad Anderson collapses to the floor. Dead before he hits the ground.

Silence…

Requiem’s voice emerges once more, calm and composed. “Plant a needle on the former Mr. Anderson. 4 milligrams of Fentanyl.” They look at Thad’s corpse with a slight head tilt before shaking it. “We were never here, gentlemen…”

Like a shadow in the night, the mysterious figure disappears once again. The men in suits make their way out into the city, setting up Thad’s corpse carefully before they do so.

Minutes later, the family from before spots Thad's lifeless body up against the wall. With some police officers, they circle around his corpse. Stunned and frightened, the father calls for help. “Officers! Someone call 911!”

Worried for her son, the mother fails to divert his gaze towards Thad. Taking the mask off, the young boy stares into his vacant eyes… the glimmer fading like the few stars in New Toronto’s night sky…

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Stay Golden. And, of course, later days, my lovelies.  
> \- Thicket


End file.
